Leading conservative Austrian politicians have called to make it harder for economic migrants to seek asylum, causing outrage across the political spectrum.
Refugees and asylum seekers are back on the political agenda in Vienna, as the number of those entering the country has tripled since 2021. With housing facilities already strained by an influx of refugees from Ukraine, the Interior Ministry suggested tents as a temporary solution which did not go down well with local councils.
Now, some conservatives are pushing to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), with conservative ÖVP party chief August Wöginger noting that there are different circumstances nowadays compared to a “few decades ago” when the ECHR was first written.
He was backed by conservative politicians governing some of Austria’s nine states.
“Yes, he is right. When it comes to also being allowed to discuss the European Convention on Human Rights,” explained Christoph Drexler, ÖVP governor of Styria, on late Monday. “One should “take a look at what would be covered in a contemporary version of the text,” he told Kleine Zeitung.
“No one wants to change human rights arbitrarily. But for me, it is quite clear – the over 70-year-old Convention on Human Rights needs an update on the topic of migration,” said Christian Sagartz, the head of ÖVP-Burgenland, which borders Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. Sagartz co-chairs the human rights committee in the European Parliament.
The governor of Salzburg, conservative Wilfried Haslauer, was more careful.
“Asylum principles are clear and are there for those who need asylum. But we need a solution for economic refugees who invoke asylum principles – but without having any prospect of asylum at all,” he told APA, noting that he did not intend to reform the ECHR.
Ottmar Karas, vice-president of the EU parliament, was furious and tweeted that those who question the ECHR threatened democracy.
“Questioning the Human Rights Convention does not solve problems but shakes the foundations on which our democracy rests,” echoed Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen.
(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
